North Melbourne veteran Drew Petrie turned hero and won the battle of the key forwards as the Kangaroos rocked St Kilda's premiership hopes with a shock five-point win at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
On a day when Saints' twin towers Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke shared six goals, it was Petrie with his bag of four that ultimately proved the difference.
With scores knotted at the 25-minute mark of the final term, Petrie outmuscled three opponents to haul in a spectacular grab 30m from goal.
He calmly slotted through the set shot from just inside the boundary to regain the lead for the Kangaroos.
Both teams battled it out for the final four minutes, with Riewoldt having a chance to tie scores inside the final minute but his long bomb from outside 50m fell just short and was punched through for a point by Nathan Grima.
The Kangaroos were able to retain possession and hold on for just their sixth - and best - win of the season.
Unbeaten just over a week ago, the league-leading Saints have now lost successive matches, having had their run terminated by a two-point loss to Essendon in Round 20.
The Kangaroos drilled the opening five goals of the match and retained the lead until Saint Andrew McQualter marked 30m out and converted at the eight-minute mark of the final term.
Justin Koschitzke, a force all day, then kicked his third goal to give the Saints a seven-point break and the momentum but the Kangaroos refused to buckle.
Scored were tied from a Josh Smith point, then Petrie, with three defenders hanging off him, produced the game-winning play.
A scare went through the Saints' camp when skipper Riewoldt appeared to hurt his right knee while tackling Liam Anthony in the opening minutes of the last quarter.
But he played out of the match and, as was the case against the Bombers a week earlier, had the chance to pinch victory for his team.
The Kangaroos had several winners, none better than Levi Greenwood who held Brownlow Medal fancy Nick Dal Santo to just nine touches.
Saints' tagger Clint Jones also had a good day, holding ball-magnet Brent Harvey to 16 disposals.
The Saints were held to their equal –lowest half-time score of the season and, ultimately, were left to lament their poor goal-kicking.
They dominated the inside-50 count 59-36 but couldn't get the job done.
Just days after naming Brad Scott as their new coach for next season, the Kangaroos showed they could be a team on the rise in 2010.
Nathan Grima and Shannon Watt were resolute in defence, Andrew Swallow dominated in the middle with 33 touches while Petrie and Aaron Edwards were a major headache for the Saints up forward, sharing six goals.
ST KILDA3.0, 4.4, 6.9, 8.11 (59)
NORTH MELBOURNE5.2, 7.2, 8.3, 10.4 (64)
GOALS: St Kilda Riewoldt 3, Koschitzke 3 Ray, McQualter,
North Melbourne: Petrie 4, Edwards 2, Goldstein, Campbell, Adams, Swallow.
BEST: St Kilda: Riewoldt, Koschitzke, Gram, Montagna, Goddard .
North Melbourne: Rawlings, Swallow, Petrie, Edwards, Greenwood.
INJURIES: St Kilda: TBC.
North Melbourne: TBC.
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil.
UMPIRES: Stevic, Grun, Keating.
CROWD:30,522 at Etihad Stadium.